


Secrets of the Sea

by ShowMeTheStars123



Series: Secrets [1]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Angst, Child Death, Established Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Investigations, Married Couple, Murder, Panic Attacks, Rewrite, Season/Series 01, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2020-10-05 15:04:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20490830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowMeTheStars123/pseuds/ShowMeTheStars123
Summary: A rewrite of Broadchurch in where Alec is married to heart surgeon who is also the last person who saw Danny Latimer alive on that faithful night. Would her existence had made a difference during the investigation?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Had this story in my head for a long time... Maybe I shouldn't have re-watch all 3 seasons of Broadchurch while studying for my exams... Oh well, hope you'll enjoy :)

Sarah was a young woman of 33 years old who had just found her first job as a certified cardio-thoracic surgeon at the hospital in the small town of Broadchurch. To be fair, this location wasn't a first choice, she decided to move there to follow her husband who had accepted a new job there. As a sign of a fresh start as they had faced tormenting events not so long ago.

Today had been challenging at the hospital, one surgery, three post-op check-ups, 15 consultations and one teenager who had been check-in several minutes before she leaves. After making sure that the girl was stable and could wait tomorrow for surgery, Sarah left the building. Even though she was the kind of doctors who wouldn't hesitate to do some extra hours to save a life, right now all she wanted was to come back home to her husband. Well depending on whether he is already home or if you could called a hotel room a home. In any case, Sarah felt that she could be called at anytime to be rushed back.

When she finally arrived at the Traders, Sarah waved at Becca and had a small chat with her before heading to her room, thinking to be welcomed with a heart-warming kiss from her lover. She, unfortunately, found him asleep, on his stomach in their bed. Because she didn't wanted to wake him up right now, she instead went to the bathroom and took a shower. Once she was over and came back in the room, Sarah saw him starting to move so she approached him and then kissed him.

"Tough day at work?" she asked with a small smile.

"Not really... Nothing happened... Again... This town is boring. I'm starting to regret forcing you to come here." he replied with a bit of irritation in his tone.

"You didn't force me... I would had followed you to end of the world if you had proposed it. Now, do you think that a back rub will help to cheer you back up ?"

"Maybe... Only one way to found out." he answered with a smirk.

Sarah answered with a smile before taking off her husband's shirt. Once she was finished with it, she sat in a comfortable position and started to massage him. Those intimate moment with her man were pure gold for Sarah, it was like she was in another universe out of all her problems. She was, sadly, brought back to reality when her beeper started to ring, informing her of an emergency.

"Oh I'm sorry honey... I have an emergency at work... I need to go." she said disappointed.

"Don't worry love, I understand... Go save lives."

"I'll probably stay at hospital for the rest of the night but I'll see you tomorrow during lunch?"

"Not if I see you first." he answered playfully.

They shared a kiss before Sarah puts on her coat and left the room. Letting her husband to be alone one more time. Although he totally accepted her job and was incredibility proud of his wife sometimes he wishes that they had more “married couple time”. But hey... That's what happen when a surgeon and a police officer get married each other.

Sarah was already almost there (after all, the hospital is only 10 minutes away from the hotel by foot) when she head a noise. She turned her head to see where it came from when she saw on young boy who look like he had just fell from his skateboard.

"Are you alright there sweetie?" she asked while approaching the young boy.

"Yeah, no broken bones." he answered rapidly.

"Good to know and I have another question... What a young boy like you is doing outside this late?"

"I'm meeting a friend." he said without further explanation.

"Can't meet this friend at daylight?" Sarah asked suspiciously.

"Not really... It's complicated.... I don't even know if I still want to see him afterwards." he answered with uncertainty.

Sarah felt like there were far more informations about this friend that the boy didn't wanted her to know. Some more darker secrets, oh well she could still talked about it to her husband when she'll see him tomorrow.

"Well let me tell you something... If you're not comfortable with this friend of yours maybe you should stop seeing him."

"Yeah, you're maybe right"

"And one last tip... Try to come back home for 10 minutes before your actual wake-up alarm. Parents tend to check on their kids when they wake up."

"Okay, thanks ma'am."

Sarah nodded then watched the boy stand back on his skateboard and followed him by sight until he was out of her view. She then returned on her tracks and arrived back at her work in time to save the day.

If Sarah knew at the time that the young boy was Danny Latimer, she would had reacted differently, acted differently and since then, she imagined every night in her dreams what would had happen if she had taken Danny back to his home.


	2. Episode 1

Alec Hardy didn't woke up by a hug from his wife nor by his alarm nor by chest pains but rather by a phone call. Apparently, he was needed to check on a tractor who was supposedly siphoned from its oil, at bloody 7 in the morning. Once he hung up, Alec noticed that he had receive a text from his wife.

“_Hope you'll have a better day then yesterday ! I love you <3”_

Alec smiled and replied with a “_Thank you, wish you the same_.” without adding an _I love you too_ because he knew that he will have plenty of time to say it her in person during the day. He remembered that they planned to have lunch together, which generally meant that he will meet her at her work as he didn't want her to go to his. Not that he was possessive or anything but he didn't want to be the centre of the station's gossips.

After he got dressed, Alec reluctantly started to go to the "crime scene". When he arrived at the location, the DI looked around and only listened with one ear to the proprietor's complaints. Once they collected all they needed and were heading to the cart the officer who was with him, informed Alec of a call they just received about the shore.

Alec finally arrives at the beach and immediately saw the body and by judging by height, it looked like it was a child. With all that, all his memories came back to hunt him. Alec tried to listen to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore to calm down but all he was thinking right now was how was he supposed to explain that to Sarah. Why should he force her to live through another case of a child murder ?

"Oh God... Don't do this to me.... To us."

Alec walked to the body while still trying to regain his calm. Once he arrived at its level, he knelt down and started the standards observations. Not so long after Ellie had also arrived at the crime scene and began to walk toward the dead body. When she realize who was laying on the sand, she slowed down and felt overrun by sorrow.

"Oh God... No, no, no." Ellie desperately said.

"Off the beach ! This area is off-limits !" Alec shouted as he tried to get the attention to the officer who was next to him.

"No I'm police. " she said while giving Alec her badge. "Oh God, I know him. He lives here. He had tea at my house. He's my son's best friend. Oh god Beth ! Does Beth know?" Ellie rambled as she was trying to figuring out how something like this could happen.

"All right, calm down DS Miller." he said as he gave back the credentials.

"You don't understand I know that boy." tried to explained Ellie

"Shut it off." he cuts off.

"Shut it off?" she shouted back incredulously.

"Be professional, you're working a case now." he pointed out then he held out his hand to introduce himself. "Alec Hardy"

"I know... You took my job."

"Really? You wanted to do that now?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You don't even know who he is !" she accused him.

"Tell me."

"Danny, Daniel Latimer. 11 years old. Go to school with my boy Tom. His family lives here dad's the local plumber."

While he listened to the informations his DS was giving him, Alec looked up at the cliffs.

"Is this a suicide spot?"

"He wouldn't do that."

"Answer the question" he sighed.

"No... There are others. There's one 3 miles west, there's another one further inland." explained Ellie before taking a moment to look at the body. "He's not that kind of kid."

"Find out where the SOCO are. We have to move fast. That tide'll be in."

Beth Latimer, who had been looking for her son all morning, had also arrived to the beach after she head that a body had been found. When she saw the body, she had to make sure if it was Danny. So Beth passed over the police tape and ran towards the body. Even though she was being stop by Ellie and by other officers she had to be sure. Reality hit her when she saw a detail on the body.

"Those are his shoes ! Those are Danny's trainers ! No !! Danny!!"

Beth was still trying to escape from the cops' grips with difficulties but after 2 hours she started to calm down. Then she was pulled back from the scene and brought safely back to her home.

After all of that drama, Alec and Ellie went on the top of the cliffs to get more clues about what could had happened. Once up there, they got the information that Danny didn't fell or jump from the cliffs due to the trajectory. Which already pulled out some suspicion about the real cause of death. And as the SOCO concluded : Somebody tried to make it look like an accident.

Alec and Ellie were on their way back and prepared themselves to announce the terrible news to the family when someone came to their encounter.

"DS Miller !" shouted Olly to get her attention.

"Who's that?" Alec interrogated.

"Just keep walking." Ellie answered quickly faking the fact that she didn't heard her nephew.

"Ellie !" Olly insisted.

"He seemed to know you."

"Auntie Ellie !"

"I told you. Don't do that !" Ellie warned Olly, pointing her finger up to him.

"Olly Stevens, Broadchurch Echo" he introduced himself.

Ugh, journalists... Alec hated journalists. It was because of those bloody reporters that he almost lost his wife when they released their trash in their trashy papers during one his previous case. They could do some really big damages just to publish their stories, real or fake ones.

"I was down on the other end. Why has the beach been closed? I heard there was a body."

"No statements now." Alec declared plain and simple.

Alec then entered the car, not wanting to answer further more questions. While they were driving to the Latimer's house, Alec's phone started to ring. When he saw that it was Sarah, he hesitated. He didn't want to talk to his wife in front of Miller but he knew that Sarah was starting to panic as she didn't saw him on time of their meeting and without having any of his news. So Alec was a little bit forced to take the call.

"Hello love. No, I'm sorry I wouldn't be able to come... I had a case... No don't worry, I'll talk to you later... Yeah, love you too."

"So... That was your wife?" asked Ellie as she was just noticing the wedding ring on Alec's finger.

"Yeah."

"What's her name?" she continued, wanting to know more about this new boss of hers. Creating a bond.

"Could you focus on the road Miller?" he replies, trying to change subjects.

There was a small pause.

"Sarah... She's a surgeon."

"That must not be fun every day... A cop and a doctor?" Ellie replied.

Alec only answer to the question was a sigh. As said before, he really didn't want to talk about his relationship. The rest of the car ride went in silence and in a less than a quarter of a hour they arrived at the Latimer's. They took a few minutes to plan how they were going to make the announcement, especially who would done it. Which Ellie did a bit disagree as she wanted to do the lead with the family. Once they were ready, they went to knock at the door, made the family sat on the couch then Alec announced them the horrible news. And with that, the whole family was shattered.

After a small set of commons questions in this sort of case, Mark asked if he could see, thinking they might be wrong on the identity. To which Alec accepted but not before warning him about the trauma this action could led. Even with that in mind, he was still determined to go check. So Alec, with another cop, drove him to the hospital while Ellie did the examination of the house. After different sort interference (traffic or petition's signing) there he was, Mark at the morgue, looking at the dead body of his youngest child. Still couldn't believe that it was his son on the examination table. How could life be so cruel?

Before leaving the hospital, Alec took the time to go see his wife. Which the main reason he went with Mark and left Miller behind. Even if he wasn't sure if he would be able to talk to Sarah he still wanted to take a shot. And he was glad he did when Alec saw her, completing what look like a patient record.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah said, spotting her husband.

"Can't a husband surprise his wife?"

"I thought I said you were on a case?"

"I am... I was just... Could I talk to you for a moment?" Alec asked

Sarah nodded then Alec took her arm and pulled her away from the crowd. He knew they were now leaving in a small town in where everyone had ears everywhere so he had to be discreet on the case. But knowing also Sarah's past, he couldn't wait to tell her or wait that she learned it from a third party.

"What's the matter? Is it your heart?" she asked as she was starting to panic.

"No it's... My case... It's about the murder of an eleven year old boy."

"Oh god... Oh no...." she said trying not to get overpowered by her emotions.

"Now I know what this could mean for you so if you want me that I step aside..." he started.

"No. I want you to take this case... No one is more qualified then you for this case." she said simply.

"You're sure?" he asked a bit worried.

"Yes... Just... Promise me to be careful? I don't want to see you as a patient here unwillingly."

"You know me..." she gave him a _that-is-why-I'm-asking-that _look_. _"I promise."

"Good so... Does that mean you'll come home late?" she speculated.

"Depends... When do your shift end?"

She looked at her watch and calculated the rest of her shift. "9 o'clock."

"Then no... I'll probably come home at the same time."

Alec kissed Sarah and let her returned her work before returning to Mark. He then drove him back to his house. Once done, Ellie announced him that they were no sign of forced entry then they continued their research with they knew for now.

After they questioned Jack Marshall about what he could tell about Danny's attitude during the previous days, Alec and Ellie returned to the station. Alec took the time to explain to the rest agents on the case what was the plan of this investigation. Collecting CCTV footage from a mile around the house, discovering who could have abducted Danny if he was abducted, having Ellie describe the family's history. Alec continued his speech without noticing the Chief Super studied him. She took him then away from the station to have a small talk around some ice-cream with her DI.

"We don't want Sandbrook to become a thing." she warned him.

"I was completely exonerated."

"Think of your wife... Wouldn't she...." she started.

"I'll stop you right there... I already saw my wife and she want me to take the case. Said I was the most qualified officer here to treat this case, which, frankly, I agree with her."

"You came here to lie low. Both of you." she tried

"We came to do what our respective job required. You wanna stop me, you're welcomed to try. Thanks for the 99." he said before leaving his boss.

After a few minutes, where he ate the rest of his ice-cream, Ellie joined him.

"What did Jenkinson wanted?"

"Miller, your son went to school with Danny. Does he know yet?" Alec asked instead.

"No." she replied, guessing where this question will led.

"You need to talk to him."

"Tomorrow, I'll tell him tonight. And Sir do you mind not calling me Miller? I don't really like the surname thing, I prefer Ellie." she asked.

"Ellie.... Ellie... No."

In the middle of the afternoon, the results of the autopsy came. It concluded that Danny was strangled while facing his attacker, who presumably was a male due to the bruises who could only be caused by large hands. He also had traces of domestic cleaning fluid on the skin but, hopefully, no sign of sexual violence. The time of the death would be between 10pm Thursday night and 4am Friday morning.

Meanwhile, Sarah tried to continued her day as if nothing happen. At first, it was easy but as more and more people learned about the death of the boy, whispers became more louder. Sarah mostly noticed this while on her way to the operating room for her second surgery of the day. When she saw a small group of people speculated.

"Did you heard about Danny?" asked a nurse.

"Yeah it's horrible. I just saw Mark a week ago when he helped me with my sink." answered another.

"I wonder what happen." replies a resident in surgery.

"Why don't you ask Sarah? Her husband is a cop after all." said an anesthetist.

Hearing that made Sarah changed her direction. Why did Alec let the press to release the name so early? Or maybe he didn't know yet either? It's a small town after all, people do assumptions, especially journalists. Oh he's going to be in rage when he will learn about it.

After a small detour from people seeking her for answers, Sarah rushed in the block and started washing her hands quite rapidly. She needed to think about something else and an open-heart procedure is a good distraction. She recited all the steps of the operation in her head and near to be fully concentrated to her work when she got interrupted.

"Hey, are you alright? You look tense." asked her intern for the surgery.

"I'm fine." she murmured.

"Is it about Danny? Did your husband tell you anything?"

"I said I was fine !" she screamed.

Then she burst into tears. Of course she wasn't alright, all her memories were slamming in her head ! She started having difficulties for breathing and felt her heart racing. Yep, she knew it was a panic attack, she has been having them for quite a while know. Even though it had been several months since her last one, Sarah knew that with what happened it wouldn't have been long before she started having them again.

Alec, meanwhile, was furious. The name of Danny had been released by the press, all thanks to Miller's nephew. He knew he shouldn't blamed her for what Olly did but as he had now lost the trust of the family, Alec made Ellie responsible, she should had been more professional. After correcting the media mistake, he returned to the Traders. Alec didn't plan to stay long, he was just going to change his suit to be more “presentable” for the press conference. He was stop by Maggie and Olly who presented his excuse for releasing the name and that it was now Maggie who will in charge of the liaison with the police. Promising that she will talked to the Latimer, explaining the truth. Then Alec finally returned to his room but was confused by the unexpected presence of Sarah..

"Didn't you said that your shift would end in 2 hours." he said with surprise as he looked at the time.

"I had a panic attack... Before going to the OR... So my chief send me back home early."

"What?" he replied with concern.

"It's not what you think...."

"Not what I think? You didn't had a panic attack for 6 months and on day I'm announcing to you the death of a young boy you start again having them but it's not what I think?" he said as he started to feel guilty.

"I had it because... I saw him... The boy.... On the night he died."

Learning that information put Alec in state of shock. His own wife was now becoming a key witness to his murder case. That's not good... It was just like last time. Wanting to give Sarah some sort of comfort, Alec sat on the bed with her and took her hands. He waited for her to explain further more what she meant with her last statement.

"You remember... I was call for an emergency... I saw him while on the path, he had fell from his skateboard. I should had done something... I should had called you... I should have prevent this..."

"Hey... None of it is your fault.... " he declared before taking Sarah in his arms.

"Why is it always happening to me?" she asked desperately.

"I don't know... But you'll have to come to the station. When is your next day-off?"

Sarah thought for a moment. "Tomorrow actually."

"I'll see with Miller if she is available for your statement."

"And.. Will I be oblige to... You know..." she didn't finish her question as Alec knew what she was talking about.

"I'll see what can do." he promised.

Alec then stood up and kissed her forehead before heading to the bathroom to get changed. When he was ready, Sarah remembered him to take his pills then went for a small nap after all the events she had been through today. Alec returned to the station to see if any new evidence had arrived while he was away. Which Ellie provide him with a CCTV footage that showed Danny on his skateboard, which confirmed Sarah testimony. Speaking of that, Alec asked Miller if she could be free tomorrow for a eyewitness hearing without telling her more. Explaining that he would give her more details later. Alec then headed to the school where the press conference was held and he declared that they will catch whoever did it.


	3. Episode 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooooooooo sorry that I took this long to publish this next chapter.... I just started a very stressfull year at uni and I wanted to focus on my studies which lled me to put writing on the second spot. To be fair, I had most of it written for months but I was always stopped at the end... Couldn't decide on the way to rewite it... I hope you will still appreciate it 
> 
> Hoping also that everything is alright with you and your family with the confinement and stay safe at home !

Alec started his day by retracing Danny's paper-round to see if he couldn't find some clues. Which at first, seemed not successful as he only passed through different houses and high populated areas. Then, he arrived at an isolated spot on Briar Cliff where only a hut stood. As it was only a mile and a half where Danny was found, Alec looked around to see if any CCTV could be spotted. He found only one that was facing towards the parking lot. Now that could be interesting... He would had to talk to Miller about it, see if they could collect the footage. Maybe they will see something suspicious on the night of Danny's murder.  
After finishing the round, Alec was now on his way to the station. When he was close, he got called out by a woman, who he remembered from the press conference. She introduced herself and... Wait... Karen White, he remembered that name. How could she be so friendly after she put him through. After what she did to Sarah. Alec decided to just ignored the journalist not before telling what he truly thought about her before entering the building. He was then stopped by who give them some messages left by the population. Yeah, yeah, add new phone lines, he will take of it. Once he reached his floor, Alec was stopped by Ellie who handed him a cup before he could enter his office or see its interior.

"Morning. We got you tea."

"How did you know what I take in the morning?"

"I didn't... We actually went for a coffee but your wife informed us that you hated it when she arrived. So I ran back to the café and bought you tea." Ellie explained.

"My wife..." he looked inside his office and spotted Sarah, sitting on the chair opposed to his desk. "What are you doing here?" he said surprise

"You asked me to come." she replied simply.

"Yeah but I thought you'll come later, like in the afternoon."

"Is there a problem?" asked Ellie, unknowing what was behind Sarah's presence.

Alec sighed. "No it's... Miller meet our key witness I told you about last night. That's the reason I needed you for the statement. Obviously I can't do it myself."

"Oh...I see... Well in that case... Could you wait from me in the interrogation n°2? That will be on your left when you leave the office then on your right." Ellie replied while explaining with hand gestures.

Sarah nodded and slowly left the office not before giving her husband an encouraging smile. During her walk, she tried to stay calm and not to think about her past. When she arrived in front of the door, Sarah started to feel guilty... Was it really a good idea to not state her identity? What would happen during the trial when there will be one? Would the killer be set free just because her statement would be invalid as it will be anonymous? She continued to stare at the door for a few minutes before entering not knowing that she was watched by the two police officers.

"Should I be informed of something before going through this statement?" Ellie asked.

"No." he replied simply.

Ellie started to walk away from her boss to go check on Sarah but then Alec took her arm to stop her.

"Miller... This will be an anonymous statement.... Sarah had a rough past with interrogations and police cases. She suffers from panic attacks ever since a case she was involved with as a witness so don't be too harsh on her." 

Ellie nodded to her boss, understanding his concern for his wife but as soon as she had her back to him, she rolled her eyes. HE was asking HER not to be harsh on a witness? It was the world upside-down ! Like she was the one to show her professional self without thinking of her human self. In any case, Ellie went to the interrogation room without replying to her boss. She then entered and gave a reassuring smile to Sarah, who looked lost in her thoughts.

"So your husband explained everything to me but don't worry, it won't take long. And if you feel at anytime overwhelmed or need to take a deep breath outside, have a glass of water, just tell me." Ellie explained, using her motherly voice.

"Yeah... Thank you... It just.... I start to feel guilty to make my statement anonymously... It's like I have a responsibility to be the perfect citizen as I'm married to the head officer of this case." Sarah explained.

"If you really don't feel like it, don't force yourself to do it. You don't to push yourself into anxiety just to play the role of the perfect wife of the DI. "

Sarah took a deep breath. "My name is Sarah Hardy. I'm 34 years old and I'm a cardio-thoracic surgeon at Broadchurch Hospital."

Ellie tried to hide it but she was proud of Sarah, she could understand why her boss fell in love with her. She then turn on the recorder so that the interrogation could begun. As for Sarah, she didn't change her mind just to be more helpful with Alec's case but so that this family won't suffer from the same pain she suffered. The statement went without any problems and in less then 20 minutes, Sarah had explained everything to Ellie. About how she met Danny, the friend he told her about, the strange feeling she had. It didn't took long before Sarah was free to go and once his wife gone, Alec could talk to Miller about the new elements : the hut, the CCTV footages. The priorities for the day was main suspects, Danny's skateboard and mobile and the murder scene.  
The rest of her day went quite smoothly for Sarah. Being on a day-off for a surgeon was kind of unexciting. No calls, no rush into the OR or ER no need to see patient after patient... A day-off for her was more of a sleepy day. She decided to go for a walk, after all, she never took the time to discover the town, to meet the people. The best way Sarah found to socialize was the grocery. Now, some may ask : why go to the grocery store when you live in a hotel? Well firstly, afternoon snacks. Secondly, hygiene stuffs and thirdly to have an excuse for leaving the room.  
Her run to the store went easily, Sarah had already talk to a few of the customers about the weather and her accommodation of the town. As she knew Alec loved a special kind of tea, she decided to look for it. She went through different aisles then she saw her. A woman standing on the middle of the aisle, focusing on a pack of cereals, she must be the mother of the young boy. She looked so in distress oh and those looks... Yep Sarah recognized them so well, both from the woman and the crowd. Sarah knew that it wasn't easy to go outside in public after such a dramatic event. So she decided to do what she wished somebody did when she was at the place of the woman. 

Sarah approached Beth with determine. "Excuse me... Would you like some help?"

"Oh sorry... No... I do believe that I can do my grocery without any help, thank you." Beth answered harshly. 

"I'm sure you do but I know that it's quite hard when you have all those eyes on you." Sarah pointed out.

"Don't sound like you know what I'm going through." Beth replied with a still aggressive tone.

"My sister died while I was baby-sitting her. I had an emergency call from the hospital where I was a resident. Believing she was old enough to be alone for a few hours, I left promising to not be long. I came back and no one, the police found her 3 days later. So trust me, I know what you feel when you lose someone you were supposed to look after. Without knowing what happen."

This was only half a lie about what had really happen, Sarah left out some major details but she needed to omit them if she wanted to stay low. Even thought, she was still convince that she had said enough about her past to gain the other woman's trust.

"I'm Sarah by the way." She continued while pulling out her hand.

Beth looked at the hand before shaking it. "I'm Beth."

"Well now Beth, would you like to continue your grocery with the help of someone who promise to not look at you like an alien?"

"I'll be pleasure." Beth replied with, what we could call, a very small smile.

Sarah's help was actually very beneficial for Beth. Every time someone was giving her the stare, she always found a way to distract her. Either by telling her a joke or by pointing out absurd reduction or promotion on price tag. Beth felt like protected by Sarah's silly personality, it was like they were alone in the store. The rest of their shopping continued for a bit until they decided to check-out. They parted ways, after exchanging their phone number, even though Sarah felt like she should stayed with Beth when she heard a cry of sorrow from the parking lot. Oh well, she could still text her once she was home.  
As for Alec, things weren't going as smoothly. Jack Marshall had told them about a event he remembered about an argument between Danny and a postman but it was a dead end. That said postman had an alibi for the murder. Then cocaine was found in Chloe's room but again a dead end. It was just a story between her and Becca Fisher that doesn't included Danny's murder. The only evidences that was left for them was a list of potentials suspects the Latimer had wrote and 500 pound in cash found in Danny's room. Alec already knew he wasn't going to pass a good evening but it was confirmed when Miller came back with their dinner.

"What's that?" He said pointing at the package she had left of his desk.

"Thai was close, chippy was the only open" Ellie explained.

"I can't eat that." Alec replied having Sarah's voice telling the same thing in his head.

"You don't eat fish and chips? What kind of a Scot are you?" She asked sarcastically then continued "It's all there is. Eat, or be hungry."

Alec reluctantly sat down after taking off his glasses and started to eat. He almost sent a message to Sarah asking about the impact of greasy food on his condition but knowing his wife, it wasn't a good idea. She would called him furiously and threatened him to come kick his ass at the station, it was like Alec could already imagine the scene clearly.

"So, first murder... How you finding it?" asked Alec after a small briefing on the case.

"Grim." Ellie replied simply.

"What did you make of Mark and Beth's list?"

"Heartbreaking. Some of their best friends, Danny's teachers, babysitters, neighbours.... They are traumatized, not thinking straight."

"Or smart... We never ask for a list.... Maybe they are trying to direct where we look, taking focus out of the household." he hypothesised cutting himself to say goodnight to an officer that was heading home.

"They didn't killed Danny." she said in disbelief.

"You have to learn not to trust."

"Oh do? Oh right... That's why you've been sent to teach me, the benefit of your experience." she said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Look at your community from outside." he explained.

"I can't be outside of it."

"If you can't be objective, you're not the right fit." Alec threatened.

"No I am the right fit, it's you who's not. Taking promotions meant for other people. Not accepting a coffee or a bag of chips without a great big sigh." replied Ellie with a harsh tone.

This was too much for Ellie... Who does he think he is? Just because he is the new boss doesn't mean that he has all the power... Well, it does but that doesn't mean that he has the right to drastically change the way of working of all the officers in the station. In any case, that didn't gave the right to Miller to be disrespectful to her boss. Which why Ellie decided to apologize immediately after her small speech.

"You need to understand Miller... Anybody is capable of this murder, given the right circumstances." Alec continued as if nothing happen but with a calmer tone to release the tension.

"Most people have a moral compass"

"Compass break and murder gnaws at soul. Whoever did it will reveal themselves, sooner or later, no killer behaves normally over time. You know the people here, look for the out of the ordinary. Follow your instincts." 

"My instinct tells me the Latimers did not kill their son." Ellie claimed as final words.

They continued eating the rest of their meal in silence. When it was starting to get really late, they departed from the station. When Alec arrived to his room, he was surprised to not saw his wife in their bed. Then he focused on the sound of water running through the bathroom. As he waited for his wife to get out, Alec took off his coat and removed his wallet from his pocket. He sat down as he started to feel dizzy, which was at this perfect moment that Sarah decided to exit from the bathroom.

"Hey you're alright?" asked Sarah as she came closer to her husband.

"Yeah... Well I experienced some heart palpitations during the day but nothing alarming and I had fish and chips as my dinner." Alec explained.

Sarah frowned her eyebrows. "Please tell me that you didn't intentionally choose the chippy? Or do I need to give you a lecture about the effect of high saturate meals on your condition?"

"Thai was closed and my DS claimed that it was the only option left. Although, to relax your doctor-y stress, I didn't eat a lot of it and...."

"Well I hope you didn't eat a lot of it. It's not because I accept your decision to not get the operation that I accept that you free-willingly destroy your life. Even though, you still doing that by not get treated." She replied with a harsh tone.

And here we go again... The operation subject. Sarah always brought back the operation subject. Even since she announced him his diagnosis 14 months ago. Ever since he asked her to marry him, which led to the fact that Sarah was now in the incapacity of being his surgeon. Ever since he decided to keep his stressful lifestyle. Alec knew that Sarah was just nervous and he could understand her.. He would do the same if the roles were reversed but he was actually very scared of the operation. He was scared that the worst scenarios would happened and he would die and leave Sarah all alone with another funeral.

"I'm fine." replied Alec shortly.

"We both know you're not.... I saw your test results and they're not good." she announced.

"I thought doctors couldn't treat their family?" 

"They can't but they can befriend one another and ask for a call when results are in."

"And what? Come on... Tell me what did my brilliant cardiologist told you?" he replied a bit fed-up.

"If you don't get operated rather quickly, you could die." she said seriously.

"I could die while being operated." he fired back

"That's not certain and you know that... Don't you have a reason to live? Am I not a good reason to fight for your life? Or Daisy?"

Sarah knew that she shouldn't brought his daughter into this but she was desperate. She wanted a reaction from Alec, a sign that he wanted to live, that he didn't gave up. It was like she was the only one to worry for his state. Why couldn't he be more concerned? Alec had always be this kind of stubborn since they were together but she thought that he would change when he learned his diagnostic. Quite the opposite actually happened. Sarah was starting to think that he didn't care for her as he claimed he did. Or maybe that was just her inner tension talking for herself.

"I told you when I proposed, when we got married and every time you tried to persuade me to have the operation : I don't want to lose any chance to spend every day of my short life with you." said Alec as he came closer to her and took her hands in his.

Sarah looked into his eyes. "You could spend a long life with me if you stop being stubborn." she replied sincerely.

"Come on, what should I do for you to stop trying to convince me?"

"Two months... That's my limit... If your lifespan get determined at or under 2 months, you'll get the operation." she said firmly.

"Seriously? You really want us to do a pact?" he asked disturbed.

"I want an insurance that, at one point, your love for me will be enough for you to risk your life."

Sarah then let go from his hands and crawled slowly in their bed. Alec joined her shortly after but they didn't continued to talk, they stayed in the silence. He knew that he messed-up and that he had to find a way to forgave himself. Alec tried to cuddle with Sarah but she didn't look too fond of the ideas as she made a bigger space between them in the bed. And for the first time, Alec saw a hint that his wife was distancing from him. He could lose her, she could left him if he kept acting like he does. After a few minutes lost in his mind while looking at the ceiling of the room, Alec got himself sorted. He looked at Sarah and thought of the words he would like to tell her.

"When I finish the case... When I catch the killer and I'm 100% sure of his or her guilty... You can start the procedure... Choose the perfect surgeon who you think is the best to play with my life."

Alec hesitated if Sarah had heard him, thinking she was already asleep, but he got confirmation when she erased the space she created and snuggled into his arms. He was still scared of dying while on the operating table but he was more scared to lose Sarah. She was everything to him, she was his world. The rest of their night past without anymore problems. The tension that was created earlier disappeared in the distance of their good but rather short night.  
The next morning, Alec went to pick up the keys of the hut to start an investigation from the inside. Although, getting them turned out to be a challenge as the woman who held them didn't seemed too cooperative with Alec with all of her questions and answers... Maybe he should leave an eye on her, she might be hiding something. Later that day, while he was doing paperwork, checking alibis, Alec received the footage from the CCTV near the cliff. 

"Miller ! CCTV from the car park below the hut !" He shouted as he saw her walking near his office.

"What is it?" she asked while entering.

"Mark Latimer."

"When was this?" she went for a closer look.

"The night Danny snuck out of his bedroom."

"He said he was on a call... What is he doing?"

"Waiting for someone." Alec hypothesized

"How can you be so sure?"

"I don't but I bet I'm right."

Alec went to accelerate the recording to see if they could watch the follow-up of Mark's waiting but the image went all gray.

"Tape's run out, is there another one?" Alec asked.

"No apparently they use the one tape and recorded over it to save money." Ellie replied as she looked inside the envelope. 

"Bullocks !"

"Sorry..." said the phone guy as he knocked on the door.

"Are you done?" asked Ellie.

"No, no, it's not that. It's Danny Latimer you're doing, isn't it?"

"Why?" replied Alec suspiciously.

"It has something to do with water." he said simply.

"What are you saying?"

"I've been told that it's something to do with water."

"Told by who?"

"Ehm... I have this thing... Where I get messages... Psychic messages." he tried to explained.

"Oh for God's sake, who let you in?"

"No, the thing about the water, that's important. Don't just ignore it."

"Oh,come on, out."

"It's something that I'm supposed to tell you. He was in a boat... He was put in a boat... I don't know why...."

"And who told you this? Where did you get this from?"

"From... Danny."

Alec and Ellie looked at each other. They decided to take his deposition even though they were skeptical. This is surely a way for the man himself in the light and be able to sell books about how he helped the police to solve the case. Alec hated those kind of people but they always came around with murder cases... Groupies. When Ellie terminated the interrogation, Alec rudely send Steve out but stopped himself with what the self-proclaimed medium declared.

"She says she forgives you... About the pendant."

Alec looked at the man blankly… He couldn't be making an allusion of Sarah's sister... This man can't be a real psychic. Worse, Alec couldn't believe that for almost a second, he believed he was. After all, anyone who do a bit of research could find out how the Sandbrook case was closed. It made the front page of all the bloody newspapers ! Alec should really keep an eye on this man. While going back to his office, he asked Ellie to check his details. Right now, Hardy was more focus on knowing why Mark Latimer lied on his alibi on the night of the death and, with the posts on Danny's profile on social media that just came through, he knew he was right to keep his focus on the dad.  
Alec arrived rapidly at the Latimer's house and directly took Mark apart and started the questioning in the family's garden.

"Thursday night, the night Danny went missing, where were you?"

"On a call-out. Call came through... I dunno, early evening, about half six. Whole family's system had packed in, you know..." answered Mark rapidly

"How long did that take?"

"Most of the night. It was a nightmare boiler, so I was there pretty late."

" No, there was no call out. We have CCTV footage of the car park at the top of Briar Cliff. You were there at 7:30." declared Alec convince that it would destabilized Mark.

"So you're snooping on me now? What am I, a suspect?" asked Mark on the defensive.

" The first thing we do is eliminate people from the investigation. You tell me where you were, who you were with, how long for, I can eliminate you from suspicion. If I can't eliminate you, you're a person of interest." Alec explained.

"I er.... I was with a mate.... You know, we drove off together and then he dropped me back at the car park and I came home."

"What time was it?"

"Three or four in the morning, maybe?"

"What's your mate name?"

"I can't remember" replied Mark without any more details.

"Sorry? You don't remember your own mate name?" declared Alec in disbelief. Even though he think Mark was still lying on his alibi, he continued. "Where did you go?"

"I think we just had a drive around... Bite to eat, bit of a drink."

"You think? That was three days ago"

"Yeah a lot happen since then." replied Mark simply.

Alec was about to ask more question to Mark when his phone rang. After checking the caller and noticed that it was Miller he took a few step away from Mark and answered.

"I'm at the hut. SOCO think it's where Danny was killed. We found his prints and some blood." Ellie explained.

"Right... Anything else?"

"Yeah, the whole place has been cleaned.... We've also found another set of prints by the sink. I messaged them through to run a match against elimination prints." Miller took a few seconds to continue as she couldn't believed what she was about to say. "They belong to Mark Latimer."

And with that, the whole case took a hell of a turn...


End file.
